After dropping a few ear-catching 12 inches, the hip hop collective of the
Swollen Members--Madchild, and Prevail, the MC's and Zodak the DJ/Graf
writer (DOPE!)--brings forth from the underground a debut album where for
once, a lot of guest appearances aren't irritating and overbearing, but
blend and fit nicely in the mix. I mean, the guest lineup boasts varied
mc's and dj's like Del, Evidence from the dope ass Dilated Peoples, Divine
Styler, Everlast, Mixmaster Mike, Kutmasta Kurt, Saafir and underground
lovechild Aceyalone. And the best part is that Swollen Members are not
consistently outshined on this LP, either, as is usually the case when guest
mc's show up.

The first track, "Groundbreaking," plings into existence with a dark piano
loop, tripping over itself. A low chorus moans in, and the beat drops, Kool
DJ EQ cuttin shit up at the same time. Instant head nod. Dark rhymes are
the order, as the chorus asks "What are you afraid of? To wake up and find
this is what dreams are made of?"

"Strength" brings more of the same, with another piano loop that Mobb Deep
would nut over. This doesn't give that repetitive, "Again?" vibe, as the
beat is flipped by the Alchemist enough to distance it from the prior cut.
A brag track laced with nasty visuals, the head is still nodding
involuntary.

Ahhh, "Lady Venom." This beat fuckin knocks hard. Simple chopped up sample
and rough drums by Paul Nice back up the S&M type nice, and Prevail just
comes raw, droppin lines like, "My jaws of life the cause of death, my
breath swings the wreckin ball." The chorus is a wordless chant, melodic
but eerie.

"Front Street" hits with it's horns and flute loops and faster beats by
Alchemist. The chorus orders to "Turn the volume up a notch, we pump beats"
No shit. Can't help but follow orders. "Bless and Destroy" lives up to it's
title, as the nasty, dirty, dusty and crunchy drums rock under the best use
of a piano on the album. Zodak does his best to bless, with sweet cuts in
the chorus, as Madchild and Prevail destroy mc's. Head's gone from nodding
to snapping back and forth.

Evidence is all over "Counter Parts" producin and emceein on the track. The
beat doesn't carry the energy over from the prior tracks, though, and is
kinda blah in comparison. Kut Masta Kurt lays a couple pedestrian scratches
over the beat, as Dilated and Swollen bounce off each other effortlessly.
Simply okay, in comparison to the rest of the cuts. "Circuit Breaker"
follows with swelling strings and a slow ridin drum beat, for Madchild to
string more darkly visual lyrics over, replete with crushed skulls and
infernos. The chorus isn't anything special, though, and the track equals
the okay feel of the one that preceded it.

A rising howl greets the listener at the beginning of "Out of Range,"
swelling into a vocal hit over more savage drums by Zodak. "Beware the
swirling current of blood curling the turret," Madchild warns, in another
gothic rhyme. This would be getting tedious if he wasn't pulling it off so
damn well. A dancing acoustic guitar riff accentuates, and Zodak's mad
cutting punctuates another fat cut.

And then the superfat posse cut, "Bottle Rocket," featuring Divine Styler,
Everlast and Evidence comes on. This cut had me when I first heard it on a
mixtape a few months ago. Evidence's mellow beats rides nicely, and the MC's
all handle themselves respectfully, even Everlast. Unfortunately, "Assault
and Battery" doesn't come close to holding the attention. Maybe it's the
irritating guitar loop, or the even more irritating bassline, but Zodak's
beat is some fast forward material here. Madchild and Prevail try to keep
you hooked, but there's only so much you can do...Fast forward.

"Valentine's Day Massacre" follows up, a group cut featuring Thirdrail Vic,
Big Nous and Saafir. Saafir busts nicest over the amiable beat by Kemo,
while the other MC's hold steady with brag raps, and DJ Science twiddles the
fader. Nice, but not quite livin up to the rest of the album.

"S+M On The Rocks," is up next, a plinky bell sample rockin well, and it's
Prevail's turn to drop some vivid imagery with, "You could hold the whole
world in your hands while I get a handjob from Andromeda" and "Polished like
calligraphy but freaky like Caligula" The chorus repeats "S+M rocks the
spot!" Yes indeed.

Son Doobie, budding pornstar and forgotten rapper is the first voice you
hear on "Committed," speaking in a low voice, "The microphone is a beautiful
thing.." And then he drops a verse with that patented SonDoobie flow that
fits perfectly over the Kemo beat jingling over the kick drums. A quick
little banger, clockin in at just under 3 minutes.

And then a funky little loop pops up, startin up the headnodding once again.
A voice comes on, stating "Del said all weak emcees are about to get ate
right now. Peep." And he follows up on that statement to the fullest,
sparking off "Left Field." He did the bangin ass beat too, and proves once
again that you CANT FUCK WITH DEL. Add Mixmaster Mike on the mind-bending
cut and probably the tightest delivery by Madchild, Hot lyricals from
Prevail, not to mention the startling appearance of upstart Unicron. He
reminds me of a younger, hungrier Del, which is nowhere near a bad thing.
This track gets the rewind treatment most definitely.

Alchemist follows next with the haunting strings and fat drum beats of
"Horrified Nights," The fiercest battle track the Members drop on the album.
"The next to try to tango/ with Madchild, will get worked from every angle./
I dismantle and handle with chaos and mayhem /and cold rock a party until
the a.m." The chorus, a pieced together string of samples (copyright DJ
Premier) fits perfectly and graduates the track from neck snapper to head
banger.

"Battle Axe Experiment" is just plain fuckin ROUGH. Almost all beat, with
scratch hits for dynamics. The snare slaps eardrums silly, and the kick
thumps your chest, as Evidence and Madchild trade angry lyrics and more
nasty visuals. Zodak closes out the experiment with more dope skratch
skills. Makes me wish for more trips to the lab.

The lone smooth beat on the album, a slow riding chunk of butter shit
courtesy of Evidence, "Consumption" showcases Aceyalone's conversational
flow, alongside Madchild's musings that "The fascination of the infinite
consumes me..." While that may sound like some out there mystical "space
shit," trust that it isn't. It's a relaxin ride through some fat ass lyrics.
The vibe don't last long, as Paul Nice beats your eardrums the fuck up with
another chopped up headcracker, "Sinful Bliss." Whoever Nice is, I want
more. This cut closes out the album in fat style, chorus repeating
"Underground forever! Sinful bliss.."

Do the Swollen Members get the Rookie of the Year award for 99? They better
be in the running. This debut LP is easily fading most established rappers
efforts by a long margin. Sure, it stumbles here and there, and Madchild's
visual imagery can get redundant at times, but the consistent dopeness of
the beats, and overall vibe of the album override that. Pick it up, bump it
in your car, throw a couple jams on at a party. It may feel like Sinful
Bliss, but fuck it, it feels good, don't it?